As you heard or read, a new coronavirus – 2019 Novel Coronavirus – that was first detected in China is now spreading worldwide. This virus causes a disease called COVID-19 and can lead to fever, cough and shortness of breath. There are thousands of confirmed cases in a growing number of countries internationally and the…

Small operators are being taken advantage of by the big liquor distributors, and it’s been going on for years. But that needs to change. After several years of discussion with no progress, we’re stepping up our efforts to put an end to the pricing practices of wine and liquor wholesalers that cause small retailers to…

Nearly two years after Governor Cuomo directed the State Department of Labor to study eliminating the tip credit, the Department has issued a report recommending eliminating the tip credit for miscellaneous industries but not the hospitality industry. During six months of public hearings the Department heard from nail salon and car wash workers about unfair…

The Assembly and Senate passed approximately 950 bills in 2019, about 33% more than in recent years, which kept the Governor’s office busy through the summer and fall reviewing these bills and making recommendations to the Governor. Three bills of interest were acted on just before the end of the year: Employee Liens – Governor…

A new law that prohibits employers from asking about salary history took effect on January 6th. Under the law New York employers cannot request that job applicants provide wage or salary history as a condition of employment. In addition, current employees do not have to provide their salary history from any outside employees. The law…

As I’m sure you know another phase of the state’s multi-year march to a $15 minimum wage takes effect on December 31st. The annual increase in the minimum wage also triggers a review of the cash wage for tipped food service workers to determine if it increases (varies across New York State). It also impacts…

The SLA is continuing to seek improvements in customer service and to streamline as much of the process of interacting with them. This is a necessary move, especially given their limited staffing and ongoing delays with licensing and permits, but it’s a welcome move nonetheless. For years we lamented that the Liquor Authority was behind…

The NYS Pollution Prevention Institute is hosting two workshops this month to learn how to help reduce the nearly 11.4 million tons of food waste generated by U.S. restaurants each year. About 50% of U.S. restaurants already practice food donation and food waste reduction, and for every dollar invested in reduction, data shows an average…

The ESRTA Safety Group 554 and Sedgwick (formerly the Risk Management Planning Group/York Risk Services) celebrated the group’s 25th Anniversary by declaring a 40% dividend for qualified and participating group members. This year’s dividend is a 5% increase over last year and is the result of the consistent financial strength of the group. For the…

We’re once again conducting free trainings for owners, managers and servers of restaurants, taverns and bars in collaboration with the State Liquor Authority. Our ABC’s of the ABC Law seminar educates owners and managers of on-premises establishments about their responsibilities operating a licensed premise and our ATAP training provides alcohol beverage servers with the tools…

The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) is offering free training in the use of naloxone (Narcan) to reverse suspected overdoses for groups and organizations and is seeking hosts. The hospitality industry is targeted specifically in this effort. OASAS offers this training to a wide audience and seeks to train…

We’ve joined together with the Food Industry Alliance of New York State, the New York Association of Convenience Stores, and the Gaming Commission to launch the Retailer Age Verification Alliance to provide education regarding lottery age verification and help develop best practices to deny youth access to lottery products in order to prevent problem gambling.…